New (to me) Authors, July - September

Today I am joining in on the meme on best new-to-me crime fiction authors 2012 at Mysteries in Paradise. The goal is to share authors that are new-to-us this year, especially the ones we liked. This meme runs at the end of each quarter. Check out other posts for this quarter.

This quarter I have read books by five authors that I have never read before. None of them are new authors. Several of them have established continuing series.

1. Whiskey Sour by J. A. Konrath
2. The Suspect by L. R. Wright
3. Lament for the Bride by Helen Reilly 
4. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
5. The Tattoo Murder Case by Akimitsu Takagi

Whiskey Sour is the first novel of a mystery series written by J. A. Konrath. Lieutenant Jacqueline 'Jack' Daniels is a detective in the Chicago Police Department. Her partner is Herb, a family man. He is supportive and a calming influence on Jack. The book was a quick read and enjoyable. The story is told in first person, with Jack as the narrator. There are chapters giving the killer's point of view. Those chapters were creepy and graphic, but I do find I enjoy novels that give us more than one point of view. However, the humor in this series did not appeal to me and I probably won't continue the series.

Of all the new authors I read this quarter, The Suspect by L. R. Wright was my favorite. This book won the 1986 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Novel of the year, and it was the first Canadian novel to do so. This is an inverted mystery; we know from the beginning who committed the murder. Since the reader knows whodunit, the reader is more concerned with how the culprit is caught. And, in the case of this book, why did he do it? The novel is set in Sechelt, which is on the Sunshine Coast in British Columbia, Canada.

Lament for the Bride, published in 1951, is a vintage mystery novel, part of a long series featuring Inspector McKee of the Manhattan Homicide Squad. It is a hybrid, part romantic suspense, part police procedural. This is a story of its time -- the 1950’s. The characters are mostly rich and powerful, or once rich and powerful. People who are used to having money being about to do what they want. The bride is from outside of that world, a woman who worked for a company her husband owns. Only the bride's motivations and character are fully fleshed out. The remaining characters are murky and threatening. This is the first Helen Reilly novel I have read. I would like to read some of the earlier mysteries that focus more on McKee and his police work.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie was a fun mystery to read. The story, narrated by a precocious 11-year-old as the detective, is set in 1950, and reflects some of the hardships of post-War Britain. Set in an English village, this is the typical cozy with quirky characters and a kindly policeman. Flavia de Luce, our charming protagonist, lives in a decrepit old mansion with her father, her two sisters, and an old friend of her father’s, Dogger, who is now the gardener. Dogger and her father were both soldiers during the war, and Dogger came back with severe psychological problems.

The Tattoo Murder Case is a vintage mystery by a Japanese author, Akimitsu Takagi.  It was published in 1948 and translated into English in 1998 by Deborah Boehm. The story is set in Tokyo and it involves the tattoo culture in Japan. At the time, tattoos were illegal in Japan. I enjoyed the book for the picture of Japan at the time. I found this to be a good and enjoyable mystery, at times, but I did have quibbles with some elements. Nevertheless, I recommend it highly.

Quarterly Checkpoint #3 for Mt. TBR Challenge

This quarter I have read 17 books that count toward the 2012 Mt. TBR Reading Challenge. Combining that with the 22 books read for this challenge in March, April, May and June, I have completed a total of 39 books.

I completed this challenge on July 4, 2012, when I finished reading The Sleeping-Car Murders by Sebastien Japrisot. I will continue tracking novels I have read this year from my To Be Read stacks, because I want to know how well I have done in reducing my TBR stacks. Unfortunately I don't get rid of most of these books and I still don't have enough room to store all my book, read or unread.

Books I have read (with links to reviews):

1. Whiskey Sour by J. A. Konrath
2. The Information Officer by Mark Mills
3. The Sleeping-Car Murders by Sebastien Japrisot 
4. Flesh Wounds by John Lawton 
5. Death of a Russian Priest by Stuart Kaminsky
6. The Suspect by L. R. Wright 
7. Under World by Reginald Hill 
8. Bullet for a Star by Stuart Kaminsky 
9. A Lily of the Field by John Lawton
10. Night at the Vulcan by Ngaio Marsh
11. The Property of a Lady by Anthony Oliver
12. Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear
13. Pardonable Lies by Jacqueline Winspear
14. The One from the Other by Philip Kerr
15. A Quiet Flame by Philip Kerr
16. Lament for the Bride by Helen Reilly 
17. Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

This challenge is hosted by Bev at My Reader's Block and it was the first challenge I ever joined. It has been a great motivator for me to really dig into my TBR stacks, shelves, and boxes, and I am looking forward to continuing it next year. Check out the fun at this post and the quarterly checkpoint post.

Answering two questions from Bev for this quarterly summary of progress...

Looking ahead to next year's challenge: Is there a level that you'd like to see added?  

I think a level at 30 or 35 books would be good (but I have no suggestions for names for those levels). I would probably challenge myself to 30 or 35, but I would not go as high as 40... even though I will surpass that level this year.

Have any of the books you read surprised you--if so, in what way?

I had two surprises. One was my reaction to Whiskey Sour. I expected to like it better. It was a quick read and enjoyable. But... I don't generally go for humor in mysteries, and there were creepy and graphic elements, and for me, they did not blend well. I liked the dynamic between the two partners, they reminded me of Jane Rizzoli and her partner in the Rizzoli & Isles TV show (not in the books). That part seemed very realistic, believable. If I read more books in a year, I would probably continue this series. As a slow reader, I have to pick and choose and I don't think I will find time to continue it.

I was also surprised by my reaction to the two Jacqueline Winspear books: Pardonable Lies and Birds of a Feather. On the one hand, I loved the setting and the theme. The novels are set in Europe in the time period following World War I and revolve around life following the war and the effects it had on people's lives. But I found the solution of the mystery to be less satisfying than the overall story in both books. I did not like the emphasis on Maisie's feelings or intuition. There were far too many coincidences. Usually I am not this picky with mysteries and I know there are other mysteries with these "problems" that I have enjoyed. So it is hard to figure out exactly why I was so critical of these.

This quarter I only read three books for the Vintage Mystery challenge (one was not from the TBR stacks), and I have to pick up my reading in that area. On the other hand, I read 5 books by authors I have never read before, so that is a boost to my progress on the New Authors Challenge.

Whiskey Sour: J. A. Konrath

From the description at Goodreads:

Lieutenant Jacqueline 'Jack' Daniels is having a bad week. Her live-in boyfriend has left her for his personal trainer, chronic insomnia has caused her to max out her credit cards with late-night home shopping purchases, and a frightening killer who calls himself 'The Gingerbread Man' is dumping mutilated bodies in her district...Whiskey Sour is full of laugh-out-loud humor and edge-of-your-seat suspense, and it introduces a fun, fully drawn heroine in the grand tradition of Kinsey Millhone, Stephanie Plum, and Kay Scarpetta.

Whiskey Sour is the first novel of a mystery series written by J. A. Konrath. Jack is a detective in the Chicago Police Department. Her partner is Herb, a family man. He is supportive and a calming influence on Jack. I haven't read a Kinsey Milhone mystery in a long time, but I don't see much similarity there. Stephanie Plum, yes. 

What did I think about the book?

It was a quick read and enjoyable. The story is told in first person, with Jack as the narrator. There are chapters giving the killer's point of view. Those chapters were creepy and graphic, but I do find I enjoy novels that give us more than one point of view.

On the down side, I did not like the portrayal of a couple of FBI agents, who are brought in to help with the investigation. It was over-the-top and unrealistic. I have no knowledge one way or the other about the actual value of the FBI in investigations, but I don't believe that they can be that clueless. I am sure it was intended as part of the humor, but I found it distracting and very off-putting. That should have been skipped entirely in my opinion.

I liked the dynamic between the two partners, they reminded me of Jane Rizzoli and her partner in the Rizzoli & Isles TV show (not in the books).

If I read more books in a year, I would probably continue this series. As a slow reader, I have to pick and choose and I don't think I will find time to continue it.

Would I recommend this book? 

I hope my pros and cons have illustrated what I liked and disliked about the book. Whether someone else would enjoy this book and the rest of the series would be determined by what kind (and variety) of mysteries they like. My impression from reading reviews of the next few books in the series are that they continue along the same vein.

This reviewer at The Mystery Reader also points out a similarity to the Janet Evanovich series starring Stephanie Plum. Readers who enjoy that series may also like this one. 

I read this book as part of the Group Read Discussion for June/July in the Mystery, Crime, and Thriller Group at Goodreads. (It continues through July 14, 2012.) My husband and I both read it and he rated the experience higher than I did. My copy of Whiskey Sour had been on my To Be Read shelf for a long, long time (since December 2005), and it seemed like the time to read it or pass it on. At Goodreads, the book currently is rated 3.8 stars, and has nearly 600 5-star ratings. 

So my recommendation would be neutral. This book was not a waste of time by any means, but it was not my cup of tea.

This counts as one of my books for the following challenges:
Mt. TBR Challenge
Read Your Own Books Challenge
New Authors Challenge
1st in a Series Challenge
Mystery & Suspense Reading Challenge